Sunday, August 24, 2008

Before it hits

So here i am in Ohio, dropping my child off at college like a batch of just baked cookies, still warm and gooey from the oven, but perfectly done all the same, just needing that crisp hardening of time and cooler air.

My god, what a scene. There are 400+ kids and their parents, all bumbling our way around the campus and the procedures. It's a zoo. The upperclasspeeps arrive in a few more days, after the freshpeople have done such important tasks as learning the traditional "Greeting of the Upperclasspeople" song, so they can greet the upperclasspeople in the traditional way.

Today i have been to KMart, Lowes and Walmart (twice) in order to obtain things such as light bulbs and power cords and bathrobes and AAA batteries and pillows (because the Fed Ex people absolutely, positively did NOT get it here on time.)

Because of Walmart, i feel VERY, VERY good about my physical appearance right now. I guess i don't see middle America as much as i should, because there are some UGLY people out there.

(I am so sorry for my callous indifference. Those of you in middle America feel free to hate my snotty guts.)

The fun part is that i have been able to play mom for several freshpeople and get things they needed. Em's roommate's dad basically slowed down to 30, shoved roommate out of the car and sped away.

Tomorrow i will drop off the last few essential Walmart purchased items and then get on a plane and leave my genetics behind to fend for itself.

Surprisingly, i am just fine. The absurdity of this experience has overwhelmed my sadness.

Maybe later....

44 comments:

thailandchani said...

Wow! So soon! It will be interesting to read what you have to say as all of this unfolds, her first year of college.



~*

Lynnea said...

Meno Meno Meno - I read the first line of your post and my heart literally stopped. When it does hit, I'm all in - phone, email, chat. Get a hold of me.

I'm not just a mother, I play on on campus too! You good egg you.

Walmart and KMart are the people watching goldmines of any place. You should see the things that walk around our Walmart. In low-hung pyjamas and slippers. Tsk, tsk tsk.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Wow. Seems like just yesterday that you were telling us about teaching her to drive. She'll be fine at college, she has a good mum and that always helps.

I always feel positively svelte (and I am so NOT!) when I go to the local Walmart, though I try not to go too often because, well, ick. It's not even worth it.

lu said...

When it hits you, and always I'm thinking good things about you.

ETK said...

Busy-ness is a great avoidance technique. I know it well.

How exciting, thrilling, scary and emotional! I'm excited for you and for Em. You both have lots to look forward to. One thing, you might not have thought of - is that you get to start moving towards that part of life where you are just as much friends as you are mother/daughter. How awesome!

I'm glad the drop off went so smoothly. I'll be thinking about you both in the coming days and weeks as the transition sinks in!

fiwa said...

Wal Mart is enough to sear anything out of your brain. Try going when you get back home too.

Hang in there.

fiwa

Maddy said...

Snot in guts.......hmm.....not good. My advice?

Nip back to Walmarts and see what you can pick up at the pharmacy or failing that see your physician at your earliest opportunity.

Cheers

Mrs4444 said...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE submit this post (and several others) to BloggersAnnex.com You really must share your genius with a wider group? Please?

flutter said...

Your genetics is going to be fantastic. You've prepared her well

Susanne said...

So that's where you are. It's nice that you help her adjust a bit, and of course she'll be doing fine on her own.

Gina said...

I can remember my first day of college and my mom being so emotional. And I thought it was stupid, but now that I am a mom, I get it.

Mrs. Chili said...

Wowie. That sounds like quite an experience.

I'm going to be paying very close attention to this adventure. I like to learn from others, and I've got this scenario coming up in my future...

peevish said...

Maybe it won't hit! Maybe you will continue to be just fine. LAlalalala! Rainbows and unicorns!

I'm sending cheery and oblivious thoughts your way.


p.s. Love the fresh cookie analogy.

furiousBall said...

oh boy... need to borrow my brain bleach?

Mona Buonanotte said...

You're such a cool mom.

BTW, I live in middle America, and I know I'm among the cutest 1%. But I know of the ugly folks of which you speak.

Cheesy said...

{{{mommers meno}}}

Sounds like 1996 for me at Louisville~dropping off the oldest daughter.. try to enjoy the moments that make you smile! Tears are a given though. Enjoy those too as they cleanse the soul~

meno said...

chani, so soon have 18 years passed.

maggie, you may regret making that offer. :)

tracy, hi there! I know, walmart is pretty icky, but there are not a lot of choices in this town.

lu, thank you. You'll be doing this yourself in a few years, times 2.

etk, yes, i know how to do the busy. There has already been a tearful phone call to me, but only because her computer didn't work.

fiwa, no WAY am i going to a walmart at home. Ick! I'm a Costco girl.

maddy, maybe i should have said snooty guts.

mrs. 4444, that's a nice thing for you to say, but i think i might be too much of a smart ass. Note the mean comment about walmart people.

flutter, i know she'll be fine, she's just tired and overwhelmed right now.

suzanne, it was fun to help set up the dorm room. It looks cute. Well, as cute as any dingy, badly lit room can look.

gina, so far em is more emotional than me. We'll see...

mrs. chili, i've been watching those who went before me too. Lots to learn in the never-ending parenting gig.

peevish, maybe it won't. That is a distinct possibility. She'll me more noticably grown up each time i see her now.

furious, that sounds like an EXCELLENT idea.

mona, i know you are among the cutest, although there is stiff competetion for the worst....

cheesy, thanks honey! We moms have to stick together.

ms chica said...

...been to KMart, Lowes and Walmart (twice) in order to obtain things such as light bulbs..

Deja vu, sister! Only add a shower curtain and a corkscrew the list, and you've summed up my last move.

People watching at those stores is only rivaled by people watching at the airport, or maybe a sorority rush, so you should have a plenty to keep you distracted ;)

Bob said...

you have to be Em's emotional rock right now, showing her it will all be fine. (In a few weeks she won't be able to remember why she was upset). She'll make friends with Pauly Shore, learn all the things you've protected her from, and bring him home for thanksgiving. see what you have to look forward to?

Brad said...

Sounds like you achievded the perfect blend of concerned mother, helpful friend and a sense on when to back off and get out of Dodge.

Hop[e it continues to go so smoothly.

The Real Mother Hen said...

Em is a lucky girl :)

Scott from Oregon said...

College without a beach nearby? Oh My!

Diane Mandy said...

Ugly people at Wal-mart? Really???

I'd give anything to go to Wal-mart or Target. We don't have anything like those stores here in Germany. I never thought I'd miss 'em. But oh how I do!

sari said...

I heard another mom at school the other day saying the other thing about the people from the midwest, but she said they were all missing a lot of teeth. Now, that may just be in Oklahoma where she was from, but you never know. ha ha

I hope you and Em both are doing well, I know that it's not the dropping off that's hard, it's the going back home and figuring out what to do with yourself there that's going to be tough.

luckyzmom said...

I lived and worked in Columbus, Ohio in 1974. The first place I ate was a fabulous pizza place a couple of blocks from the University campus. I worked at the Wine Cellar and Lazarus. The picture of me in the white pants, on my blog, was taken at Kings Island in Ohio, a park like Busche Gardens. Of course, I'm sure it has changed a lot in 34 years (I don't remember there being so many ugly people). It was a lovely place back then. I wish Em all the very best. She has a solid core and her base is rock solid.

meno said...

ms. chica, so you saw them too, the ugly people!

bob, that's what i did. she was crying as i left. I just gave her a hug and a kiss and walked away. She'll be fine.

brad, i hope so too. Now that her computer is working, she should do well.

mother hen, yeah, she gets to leave all that mess in her room behind for me to deal with!

scott, i know, it doesn't seem right.

diane, i might miss Target, but not Walmart.

sari, i'm going to work on my drinking skills. Maybe i'll make it to the olympics.

luckyzmom, man, you've been everywhere! i haven't had much time to investigate Columbus. It looks nice.

Unknown said...

We shall blog naked together, Meno my friend. Except I gotta put my clothes back on around 2:15.

Wen it hits, you know where I am. *hug and smooches*

Girlplustwo said...

i can't believe it, Meno. i'll forever think of her as 16. the girl and her mom who have taught me so much.

here's to your ever stretching heart, friend.

Anonymous said...

Did they dance and unroll carpets like the girls in the Target ad?

crazymumma said...

Walmart is always blinding in its ugliness. Not so much of appearance but of attitudes.

Em at school. Wow. I wait with baited breath for it all to finally catch up with you.

QT said...

There's still K-mart's out there?

Yeah, the Midwest has its own brand of ugly - different from Kent or Federal Way, but ugly just the same. I call it the Pillsbury Doughboy gone wrong.

Can't wait to see you and hear all the gory details in person!

Dick said...

I remember those years with my two although they were not as far away- just Cheney and Seattle. Doesn't em know they have winter about 3/4 of the year in Ohio? Then it gets hot and muggy.

I'm scrawlwrite said...

ow. I've got that all- over-the-surface stress headache thinking of leaving behind. Puts my "first day of school is tomorrow" jitters right in their place.

XO

egan said...

Well the roommate sure was lucky to get you as the adopted mom. I love how you described her dad's visit. Slow the car and jump out. Awesome. You really sucked up to those middle America peeps didn't you?

Wow, the time has arrived. I'm anxious to read more about your feelings in the next month.

meno said...

nancy, might be getting a bit chilly soon in your neck of the woods for streak blogging, but until then...

jen, i can't believe it either. Someday you'll be doing the same, but that's far in the future.

daisy, my god it was AMAZING, it was JUST LIKE that, including the dancing.

crazymumma, i tried to shop as much as i could elsewhere, but they were the only place with the little fridges.

qt, i may have mis-spoke, i think it's called Big K.

dick, em will soon learn that winter is HARSH there. We were looking at the average temperatures in January. FREAKING COLD!

scrawl, hi there. Yeah, that's kind of how i feel today.

egan, yeah, i probably lost any readers i had out there from the heartland. Oh well.

Robin said...

yeah, we got ugly here and i'm one of them. it's gonna get a whole lot uglier in about 77 days when all the color is sucked out of the state and it becomes a gray, cold state of misery. i did try to dissuade you from this last spring...even offered the university of hawaii as an alternate.

i'm no fan of wal-mart, but really, where else can you shop at 3 am in your pajamas? i can take a little ugly for that.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Been there, done that, and still can't think of it without feeling a little teary.

Em will be fine. You raised a beautiful person with good sense and everything else she needs to make the most of her college experience.

Mrs4444 said...

Got a present for you...

Mrs. Schmitty said...

Just came on over from mrs4444's blog. I love your stuff! I will be back!

caro said...

Surreal man, surreal. Em in college wow.:)

Lynn said...

What made Em pick a school in Ohio? I am anxious to hear about how both of you handle the reality of her being in college... I just took Elle to High School and Sport to Middle School this morning and I am feeling weepy...Evidently I am a wuss.

As for any of those "Mart" stores (Wal, K)...Elle thinks they're and the people sleeping outside of them are creepy...but you gotta love the deals lol

meno said...

robin, hell, if she had gone to the University of Hawaii i would have moved there with her.

hearts, i haven't cried yet, but i feel odd and sad. It's very quiet here.

mrs. 4444, thank you! that was nice of you. :)

mrs. schmitty, welcome. Glad you like it here.

caro, who would have thought this day would come. So weird.

lynn, it wasn't the Ohio part, it was the school. Although it will be interesting to see how she survives a real winter.

Liv said...

oh,wonderful woman. cannot wait to read what comes forth in the next few weeks! wishing Em the best!

Anonymous said...

How could you say that about me? Is it my muffin top? Is that what it is that makes me so uglee?

Hurting over here. Really hurting.

Just kidding. Nowhere near middle of country. Still ugly though.